


Sunrise

by WildastheRiver



Series: Carving Stars in Stone [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Kiliel fluff, May Become a Series, POV First Person, maybe some kissing, mentions of Bard, post Smaug death, spoilers for post DOS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:17:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildastheRiver/pseuds/WildastheRiver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Smaug's death brings life into perspective for Tauriel, especially concerning a certain young dwarf.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> Going in to DOS, I never expected to like or even anticipate this pairing. I came out pretty much obsessed, and it's taken over my mind since. If I have the time, I REALLY want to expand on this; I've got another one shot type thing in the works. And if people are at all interested... but head canon's just exploded, I'm barely keeping up. Please keep in mind that I haven't read the Hobbit in YEARS(working on that also now), so if there are inaccuracies, they're accidental(probably) or head canon(possibly).
> 
> Spoilers for those who don't know what happens to Smaug.

 

 

Sunrise.

Never had such an event brought me such relief.  But the morning the sun rose over Laketown, I felt that relief.  When the dragon appeared, even I worried that we would not make it out of the situation in one piece, but I had forgotten the resilience of man.  And, it seems, that of our host, the man who brought the dragon down, Bard.  I don’t think he was expecting to come back to his home with an elf guarding it, but after everything that had happened, he certainly wasn’t surprised.  I think the fact that his house was still standing was more a surprise than I.

The town was oddly quiet as the sun broke the sky, some sort of odd peace now that the dragon was gone.  I should have left, I knew that, Legolas had long gone, and I had no need to still be here.  Except, I didn’t want to go, not yet.  

I heard the wood creak behind me, but I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.  “You should be sleeping, Master Dwarf.  You need to rest.”

“Worst is behind me, I should—“ He grunted slightly, limping to my side.  I didn’t look at him right away, not wanting to know what would happen if I did.  “I should be getting back my strength.”  His elbow brushed mine as he brought his arms up to the rail, overlooking the rooftops.  “Oin said the dragon’s been destroyed?”  I had to smile a little; clever dwarf he was, trying to get me to speak.  

“Bard brought the beast down.  I am surprised you didn’t feel how the earth shook when he tumbled into the lake.”  I turned my head, catching his eyes and holding his gaze.  Now free of the fever that had almost taken him, they were the same beautiful hazel that had first captured my amusement in the prison.  His eyes reminded me of the forest on a day of old, green and gold and brown, like sunlight on the leaves.  For a moment, looking into his eyes was like looking at the home I used to have.  It took him clearing his throat and looking away for me to realize that I had been staring.

“If I’d been awake, I would have taken it down myself,” he said, trying to sound tougher than he was; it was enduringly amusing, seeing this dwarf try to impress me with his prowess.  I chuckled.  

“Oh really, Master Dwarf?  You, take down the mighty Smaug?”

“I could have done it, if I’d been given the chance!”  He looked to me again, grinning mightily.  I had to return it.

“I’m sure you could have,” I relented, touching a lock of his hair.  He flushed again, swallowing, and turned away.  I withdrew my hand, waiting for him to speak again, unsure if I had done something wrong.  He looked down at the battered edge of the balcony, then back to the water.

“I thought you would be gone before the sun rose,” he said finally.

I sighed, bowing my head and closing my eyes; I’d thought so too, after the fall of the dragon and his recovery.  But I could not bring myself to go.  “I had to make sure you would indeed recover, Master—“

“Kili.  My name is Kili.”

I knew that, but keeping the formality also meant keeping him at bay, and I knew that I probably should do that.  “Kili.  I had to make sure you would live.”

“And I did, thanks to you.”  There was a moment’s pause, then I felt his fingers brush the top of mine; rough though they were, there was a comfort and warmth to them that I had not really experienced before.  I pulled away, smoothing my sleeves and avoiding his eyes once more.  He jerked away rapidly, apologizing.

“I’m sorry, I—I shouldn’t have done that, I—will go—“  I heard him turn, and I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.  He looked down at my hand, then at me, eyes wide, surprise and wariness in his gaze.  I held it, carefully lowering myself to his height.  If I’d thought him surprised before, it doubled as we finally looked at each other on the same level.  He swallowed, and I could almost feel his pulse it was going so fast.

“What do you remember of last night?” I asked softly, waiting until I knew for certain which direction to take.  Even if I wished for only one.

“I… not… much, Lady Tauriel, darkness, and pain, a lot of pain—“  It had been hard to watch him, as the poison threatened to overtake him, and it had made my decision that more difficult.  “—And then… you.  At least I thought it you, although you were more beautiful than I’d ever seen—“  He broke off, coughing awkwardly.  I tried to smile, but the memory was still fresh and his pain had been all too real.  

“And then?”

“Ah…”  At that, he flushed beneath his scruff of a beard, looking away.  “I… I don’t remember much after that.”

“I think you do, Kili.”  He said nothing, but his eyes flicked back to meet mine.  There was hope there, the tiniest, brightest spark of it.  This time, I took his fingers, gentle but firm, as I spoke again.  “Your words would not be easily forgot.”

He looked to our fingers, then curled his tighter over mine.  “You were a dream to me, I—what I may have said, it was for a dream that…”  Kili trailed off, sighing low.  “A dream that I will cherish.”  There was something his voice that made my chest ache, and for a brief moment, I considered kissing his cheek.  He was so young, so painfully young, compared to me, my kin.  I had no right to desire his affections, but I found I did, and I knew he desired mine.  His words last night had hurt as much as they’d been beautiful.  I closed the distance between us a little, and he looked up again with his surprise, although the spark of hope kindled to a flame.

“We will never be granted any sort of acceptance or shown kindness by our people, certainly not by mine.  What we have cannot last for the ages.  You are mortal, I am not, and there will be no songs for you when you leave this world.”  He had gone pale beneath his hair, and I could feel him trying to pull away, but I tightened my grip now.  “But—but, Kili, please listen to me, but that does not mean we cannot cherish our moment together now, for it is but a moment.”  I leaned a bit closer, allowing him no choice but to either meet my gaze or pull away altogether.  “And I want this moment to last as long as possible.”  For who knew what the next day would bring, be it peace or war, life or death; here, in our brief moment of light here in Laketown, we could be oblivious to it as long as our hearts could manage.

I would not be returning to the Woodland Realm as long as Kili was here, I knew it as he did press his lips to mine, brief though it was.  I would stay until some other force decided it was time for us to part.  From the light that filled me as his touch vanished, even as the feeling lingered, brighter than any starlight I had known, I couldn’t have fathomed any force strong enough to make us leave each other.


End file.
